Underneath Your Clothes
by BreathlessFaith
Summary: A Valentine's Day Penny Sheldon Fic.


A/N:This is my Valentine's Day present to all of you. I'm posting a few hours early but I'm afraid I wont have time to do it in the morning. What you need to know. This is pretty much a song fic. Although the song comes much later in the story. Mostly told from Penny's POV. Other then that the story tells itself. Yes Leonard and Amy are here but only for a moment.

Disclaimer: Sadly even for Valentine's Day I just can't get those people to give me TBBT.

Penny looked at her watch then out the window of the plane. One more hour until they land. Then she had a half hour to get to the club and change her clothes. Penny sighed and thought back to the last year of her life. So many changes.

It was her fervent hope that tonight would be the last one. It was also the most important one. She'd finally put an end to the nightmare that was her relationship with Leonard. She just couldn't see a future with him.

The final push had been a night out with some of her friends from the Cheesecake factory. Leah had started dating a bouncer at a new upscale club. He'd gotten them all in for free. She'd danced for a while then got a seat at the bar. Penny looked to her right and smiled at the good looking older man.

"Buy you a drink?' He asked holding up his glass.

"No thanks. I like to buy my own." She answered.

"Good for you. I'm David." He said holding his hand out to her.

Penny smiled and shook his hand.

"I'm Penny." For some reason when she took his hand this warm feeling came over her. It was like when she and her Dad used to talk on hot summer nights out on the porch.

"So Penny, tell me what your dream life would be and what your real life is like." David said to her.

For the next two hours Penny told David about her dream to be an actress. She didn't even want to be a famous one now. She just wanted to act in something other then a hemorrhoid commercial. Then she told him about being a waitress, and being with a guy she didn't love, just because he was a nice guy most of the time.

David asked her... "Is there another guy? A guy you think for some reason you can't have?"

"How did you know that?" She asked him, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Your tone of voice. That sense of longing that you think you're hiding but your not. Your eyes. The eyes really are the window to the soul."

"Sheldon. He's brilliant. A total Whack-a-doodle. Selfish,self absorbed,obnoxious, sweetest most kind, loyal man I've ever met. Did I say neurotic?"

David shook his head, that she hadn't.

"He is also quite literally one of the smartest men in the world." Penny chuckled when David raised an eyebrow at her..."Yup an IQ of 187. He also has a girlfriend whose a lot closer to his IQ then I am. We were really close once, but not so much anymore. He asked me out once. I turned him down, because I thought he was trying to make her jealous." Penny looked down at her drink for a moment.

"Looking back now, I truly believe that's the biggest mistake I've ever made. I will regret turning Sheldon down for the rest of my life."

The next thing Penny knew David handed her a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her now tear stained face. Then he handed her his phone and told her to put in her phone number.

He stood up to leave when she handed the phone back to him.

"I never asked you David. What is it you do?"

"Nothing too exciting. I just make dreams come true." Then he leaned over placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and left.

The next day Penny broke up with Leonard. Oddly enough he took it fairly well. He told her he'd been expecting it. She nodded her head at him, but before she walked out the door she said..."Just so you know I'm still coming over here to see Sheldon and the guys. You will not ruin that. If you try, I'll make sure you can't walk for a week."

Three days after that David had showed up at The Cheesecake Factory as Penny was about to leave for the night.

"Take a ride with me please." He asked her.

She did. Penny had no idea why she wasn't afraid. She just knew she was safe with David. He took her to a building and led her inside.

Turned out they were at recording studio. That's when David told her what his job really was. He'd been looking for someone to take a small pivotal roll in a movie he was directing. Penny was perfect for it.

Yes she had the perfect look for it, but it wasn't that. It was her honesty, about what her life had been so far that had really won him over. Her acknowledgement of her failures, what she'd done wrong. Her corn fed Nebraskan spirit, that she would pull herself back up and try again. David had been thrilled when she told him she had broken it off with Leonard. She was truly ready to move on with her life.

They're were two other men in the studio waiting for them. He led her into the sound room sat her down put the sheet music in front of her.

"Sing" David commanded.

Penny looked at him in total surprise and then she burst out laughing.

"Oh David. I'm so sorry. I can't sing a tune to save my life. Sheldon insists I'm tone deaf. He's right. I can't sing. I do appreciate the offer though." Penny was about to leave when he put a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her."Penny. I want you for this movie. Sing. Let my friend Eddie in there, decide how we're going to make you sound like you've been carrying a tune your whole life."

So for the next three hours, Penny sang. With music, without music. All of it recorded for prosperity as they say.

Eddie had given her a headset to listen to the music and the music sheet to take home with her.

"Just sing with it. Don't worry about how you sound. I want you more to know the words forwards and backwards right now. I'll call you with the days and times I'm going to coach you." Eddie had told her.

David walked her out to a car waiting to take her home. With strict instructions not to tell anyone what she was doing.

Three days later and Penny was knocking on Sheldon's office door at Caltech.

"Knock, Knock, Knock, Sheldon, Knock, Knock, Knock,Sheldon, Knock,Knock, Knock, Sheldon."  
He heard her voice chant against his door.

Swinging it open he looked at her curiously. Penny never came to see him at work.

"To what do I owe this annoyance at my workplace?" He asked as he crossed his arms glaring down at her.

"Let me in Dr. Cooper. I need to utilize that beautiful mind of yours." Penny said pushing her way into his office.

Before Sheldon could even close the door Penny was sitting in his chair and pulling a folder out of her bag.

"Penny you are in my seat. No one is allowed to sit in my seat." He chided her.

Rolling her eyes at him. She stood waved a hand at him to sit down and pulled the chair in front of his desk around it. Placing it next to his, she sat down.

Penny placed a quivering hand on his arm, tapping it three times with her forefinger. Sheldon turned his head and found himself almost nose to nose with her.

"I finally frakking did it Dr. Cooper. I finally did it." She whispered. Her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Whispering back Sheldon asked..."Did what?" He found he wasn't all that interested in what she was about to say. He found himself entranced by her eyes. Shimmering emeralds with unshed tears.

"I got a role Sheldon. A real honest to goodness part in a movie. A frakking going to be on the big screen in theaters all over the frakking world."

Sheldon didn't know what to think when he suddenly found himself with Penny's arms wrapped tightly around him and he realizes with some panic she's sobbing onto his shoulder.

Hesitantly he put his arms around her and patted her back.

"Penny why are you in such distress? Is this not what you've wanted to happen with your career?"

Snuffling loudly Penny finally pulls back away from Sheldon's embrace. He reaches over pulls some tissues from a box on his desk and hands them to her.

"I'm sorry Sheldon. It's just I really thought that my time to be an actress had come and gone. That I'd never do anything more then that hemorrhoid commercial. That I'd never be more then a waitress at The Cheescake chance came all because I turned a guy down, who offered to buy me a drink at a club."

Sheldon looked at her quizzically..."So these were happy tears?"

"Yes very happy tears. Some tears of disbelief." Penny says turning back to the folder she'd laid on his desk..."There was another reason I came to see you." She handed him the folder..."It's my contract. Would you please read it. You know I don't understand a word of it. I cant' afford an attorney."

Sheldon nodded his head at her and gave her a rare smile, full of pride at her accomplishment.

"Please sit quietly while I read this." He turned around and pulled a book off the shelf behind handed it to Penny..."Here look at this it's full of pictures. It should keep you occupied while I read."

Penny smiled and before he could complain she placed a kiss on his cheek. Then she moved her chair away from his knowing she was too close and opened up the book.

"I've made a couple of minor changes. Nothing anyone should object too. Just initial them, then take them back to the studio. If they agree then go ahead and sign the contract. Now this doesn't tell me exactly what role you will be playing. So what is it?"

Penny grinned at him taking back the folder and putting it back into her bag.

"I can't tell you Moon-pie. You can't keep a secret for nothing. It makes you all twitchy." Giving him her best imitation of him twitching..."Besides I want it to be a surprise for when you see me up there on the big screen." Penny stood and added the book Sheldon had handed her to read into her bag.

"Penny that's my book. I only lent it to you to keep you occupied." Sheldon said as he watched her stand up and put the chair she'd been sitting in back on the other side of his desk.

"Don't be silly Sheldon. It's a picture book. If you've looked at it once it's in that beautiful mind of yours forever. Now it's mine so every time I look at it, it reminds me of you and today." Penny winks at him and leaves him alone in his office to ponder his own life and how it really isn't where he wants it to be. He's just be going with the flow as the Hippies say.

Penny wouldn't know until much later, but her visit to Sheldon that day finally prompted him to have that conversation with Amy about their relationship agreement. Much like Leonard, Amy told Sheldon she'd been expecting it. They did however remain intellectual friends.

Now here it was months later. Penny was finally coming home. The big premier had been yesterday.

David had been right it was a break out role. Small though it had been. Her name had been mentioned in every review.

She so wished she could have watched her friends reactions when she appeared on the screen.

She'd arranged for them to be let into the theater early so Sheldon could find his sweet spot.

All these weeks out promoting the movie, Penny had kept in almost daily contact with Sheldon alone.

He'd surprised her on the day she was to leave by giving her a new laptop. After all he'd told her, he wouldn't be there to fix the issues her old one continually had. He had set up everything she would need, which included skyping.

Penny remembered being stunned the first skype session with Sheldon hadn't ended after a hello,how are you, and good-bye.

Instead Sheldon had asked her questions about The Big Think. The book Sheldon insisted she had stolen from him. Before she knew it two hours had passed. Two pleasant hours spent with Sheldon.

Every Skype session was like that. They never lasted less then two hours. He'd ask her where she was. Once he knew, he would quiz her if she knew anything about the city she was in. If she didn't Sheldon would fill her head with any number of facts. Not that Sheldon would ever admit it, he'd even told her where a couple of nice shoe stores were.

They also talked about their breakups with Leonard and Amy. Penny admitted to Sheldon he was right. Her relationship with Leonard had always been doomed. Sheldon admitted to Penny, he'd stayed in a relationship with Amy because of her intelligence. No matter how Amy pressed Sheldon would never be intimate with her. On the night before the premier, the last time they'd speak on the Skype. Before Sheldon signed off, he told Penny..."Amy wasn't the girl. She never was. I always knew it was you."

Before Penny could say anything to his stunning admission, Sheldon logged off.

It was a big request but Penny had gotten all her friends to promise they'd watch none of the interviews she was to be in. She was afraid there would be a clip of her. She wanted them to see her for the first time in the theater. They did however tape everything so they could go back and watch them later.

Penny had also arranged to have a very special party at the club where she had met David.

She'd sworn Bernadette to secrecy. It had been Bernadette's job to get everyone there. Penny had arranged for a band and had, had an outfit made exactly like the one she wore in the movie. It was in her suitcase. Penny planned on giving her friends a special performance of the song she'd performed in the movie.

Black fishnet fingerless gloves, the dress is black silk, it fits every curve perfectly. The neckline plunges and is outlined in black lace. Just below her butt the dress rags out. Each strip has black rhinestones scattered on it. Every time she moves you get a glimpse of black lace thigh highs. The garters that hold them up are rhinestoned in a deep blood red color. The 3 inch black leather boots lace tightly up the front.

If Penny had a chance to talk to Bernadette, she would have learned exactly what Sheldon's reaction to her movie role was. Bernadette had glanced over at him once. Sheldon had such a tight grip on the arm rests, that Bernadette would swear with little provocation he could have easily ripped them off.

Bernadette also could have told her that Leonard and Howard had both had to restrain Sheldon when they came out of the theater. Several teenage boys were talking about the hot blonde and how they'd have ripped that dress right off her.

When asked what he thought of her performance, for the first time ever, Sheldon was speechless. The look in his eyes though spoke volumes.

Pure lust Amy would have told her.

Sheldon paced up and down the parking lot of the theater. Clenching and unclenching his hands. Every now and then he would look at the group like he was going to say something and then he'd violently shake his head and go back to pacing.

Howard suggested hosing him down to cool him off. The only reason Bernadette vetoed the idea was they had no time to take him back to the apartment to change his clothes.

Amy said a cigarette wouldn't help because that was for after a person had sex.

Bernadette knew she'd promised Penny not to tell the others she'd be at the club. She decided it would be the only thing that might calm Sheldon down enough to get him into the car and over to the club.

They were running out of time.

Biting the proverbial bullet Bernadette cautiously approached a pacing Sheldon.

"Sheldon we need to leave right now to go to the club."

He stopped and looked down at her as if she'd just grown two-heads.

Then in a whisper so the others wouldn't hear her she said..."Sheldon we have to go to the club if you want to see Penny. That's where she'll be. I wasn't supposed to tell you even that. So please don't say anything to the others. She wants to surprise everyone."

The other 4 looked in astonishment as whatever Bernadette said seemed to penetrate Sheldon's red haze. He suddenly grabbed Bernadette by the wrist and dragged her over to the limo Penny had sent to drive them for the evening.

"Get in the darn limo! We're going to be late!" He bellowed at them. Still not letting go of Bernadette's wrist he pulled her into the limo after him.

Ten minutes later the limo pulled up in front of the club. Sheldon didn't wait for the Chauffeur to open the door. He pushed it open, grabbed Bernadette's wrist again, and pulled her out of the limo.

"Get out now! We're here!" He bellowed again at his 4 friends still setting stunned in the limo.

Leah's boyfriend was standing at the entrance and held the door open for them.

Sheldon continued to pull Bernadette after him. He made a wide sweep of the place and stopped.

"Where?" He asked her, his eyes scanning the faces of Penny's other friends looking for her.

Bernadette looked at her watch.

"Come on." Bernadette said taking Sheldon's wrist this time and pulls him to a few feet in front of the stage.

"Stand right here Sheldon." Bernadette released his hand. Motioning for everyone to stay right there.  
Then she made her way to the back stage.

Sheldon rocked back and forth on his heels, clenching and unclenching his hands.

A few moments later and Bernadette stepped out from behind the curtains, with a mike in her hand.

"Hello everyone! I hope you all loved Penny's movie as much as I did. Penny arranged for all of you to come here tonight and help her celebrate her success. For being such wonderful friends to her she's arranged another special surprise for you." Bernadette hurried off the stage and came back to stand with her friends.

Just as the sound of music started a grey haired man joined them.

"Hello. My name is David, I'm the director of the movie Penny was in. You have a very talented friend.  
I'm sure she's going to have a wonderful career." He smiled at Sheldon and pointed back to where the curtain opened.

There stood the object of his desire. In the same dress that had almost driven him to violence not an hour ago.

Her friends stood behind him hollering..." Penny, Penny, Penny. "

David turned to look at Sheldon in his long sleeved thermal, with the red Flash t-shirt over it. Blue jeans and black sneakers. Only a pair of plaid pants could make the guy look nerdier. David thought to himself. He thought if everything Penny has told me about you is true, then this song is absolutely perfect.

Then Penny started to sing.

"You're a song  
Written by the hands of God  
Don't get me wrong cause  
This might sound to you a bit odd  
But you own the place  
Where all my thoughts go hiding  
And right under your clothes  
Is where I find them

Underneath Your Clothes  
There's an endless story  
There's the man I chose  
There's my territory  
And all the things I deserve  
For being such a good girl honey

Because of you  
I forgot the smart ways to lie  
Because of you  
I'm running out of reasons to cry  
When the friends are gone  
When the party's over  
We will still belong to each other

Underneath Your Clothes  
There's an endless story  
There's the man I chose  
There's my territory  
And all the things I deserve  
For being such a good girl honey

I love you more than all that's on the planet  
Movin' talkin' walkin' breathing  
You know it's true  
Oh baby it's so funny  
You almost don't believe it  
As every voice is hanging from the silence  
Lamps are hanging from the ceiling  
Like a lady tied to her manners  
I'm tied up to this feeling

Underneath Your Clothes  
There's an endless story  
There's the man I chose  
There's my territory  
And all the things I deserve  
For being such a good girl honey"

Sheldon took in every inch of her beautiful body as she swayed to the melody. Singing only for him. A song that was seemingly created just for them. As Penny sang she moved towards Sheldon. Her fire green eyes locked with his ice blue ones. She kept on singing and stepped right off the stage. Without an ounce of fear that Sheldon wouldn't catch her.

Her arms locked around his neck, as he slid her down his body. When her feet touched the floor she slid one hand down the front of the Flash t-shirt. Outlining the lightning bolt as she went down to the hem of it. Then she boldly slid her hand up underneath the two shirts. Feeling him let out a long held breath as the palm of her hand made contact with his heated skin.

When Penny finally sang the last line of the song, there was dead silence. She slid her hand out from underneath his shirts. Patiently waiting for Sheldon to say or do something.

In the thick Texas drawl he'd grown up with Sheldon looked at her, a smirk covering his face and his eyes gleaming wickedly at her.

"Oh Honey if I'd wanted a good girl I wouldn't have picked you." Stunning everyone he then picked her up and flung her over his shoulder firefighter style.

Turning with her he looked at a stunned Leonard..."Find yourself a hotel for the weekend. The apartment will be occupied. Call before you come back on Monday to make sure it's okay for you to return."

As Sheldon walked away Leonard finally found his voice..."That's a strike Sheldon! Failing to give me appropriate notice, violates the roommate agreement." The crowd laughed as Sheldon never turned around but yelled back at Leonard..."It's worth at least three strikes Leonard."

With a giggling Penny waving at everyone from over his shoulder he carried her out of the club, to the waiting limo, telling the amused chauffeur to take them home.

THE END!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERY ONE!

A/N: Song: Underneath Your Clothes by Shakira. Book Sheldon gave Penny: The Big Think by Greg Sugden. It is a book about The Big Bang Theory in black & white.


End file.
